Dubai's reinforcing the foundation of its property sector

Property has been one of the primary driving forces of the economy ever since the market was opened up.

In what is being seen by the industry as another management masterstroke, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice-President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, has ordered the establishment of a Higher Real Estate Planning Committee in Dubai under the chairmanship of Sheikh Maktoum Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai. The members of the committee will include domain experts from among the emirate's key real estate developers, and they will be tasked with maintaining the right balance between demand and supply in the property sector by eliminating overlapping and indistinguishable projects. The move once again highlights the foresight and prudence of the leadership in anticipating the impending obstacles and correcting the course to avoid them.

Such is the quest for perfection that nothing seems to escape the keen eye of the leadership. Even a slight imbalance in the emirate's real estate sector's demand and supply equation has not just been noticed, but a high-powered committee to institute remedial measures has been put in place before the symptoms manifest themselves negatively. That is the hallmark of how Dubai goes about fulfilling its ambitions. HH minced no words when he said that "real estate projects need to adjust their pace to provide an added value to our national economy and avoid becoming a source of burden and imbalance to our economic journey." Property has been one of the primary driving forces of the economy ever since the market was opened up.

It's no surprise, then, that real estate developers of all colors and hues made a beeline to launch projects big and small over the previous 15 years or so. And it worked wonders for the emirate, with Dubai known as the city of superlatives - tallest, largest, deepest and so on. Now, however, it is time to ensure that the right sections of the property market receive the right attention instead of everyone putting their eggs in the 'oversupplied' luxury end of the residential market. It's time to reinforce the foundation of the property pillar.